Onslow Beach 2010

Again this year we traveled to Jacksonville, NC for a trip to Onslow Beach.  Since Daddy leaves on Thursday for Brazil, we had special family time. For the beginning of October, the weather was amazing--low eighties. On the day we arrived, we quickly ate lunch and headed out to the beach. We spent the afternoon searching for sharks' teeth and playing family soccer, two on two. After pizza and frosty's, we went back out on the beach with flashlights to find crabs. It was awesome until Madeline and Mommy got too cold and had to head in for hot chocolate.

The next morning for breakfast the kids had dinosaur egg oatmeal. I only buy it on special occasions and we play a silly game with it. I tell them that they had better not eat a dinosaur egg or else the mommy dinosaur is going to get them, or a dinosaur is going to grow out their noses and bum bums, or if they eat them, there will be no more dinosaurs on the earth. I pretend that I'm shocked that they ate them and that they are in trouble. M&R love this and giggle their way through breakfast. It's so cute!

Saturday we spent the entire day out on the beach, enjoying God's awesome creation and each other.  After dinner at Wendy's we went out to Onslow's Pavilion and watched Karate Kid outside on a big, blow-up screen.  They even had free popcorn and hot chocolate.  Bar the mosquitoes, it was AWESOME.  My sweet boy sat on my lap the entire time and cuddled with me.

Sunday, we again spent the entire day at the beach.  Before dinner, we biked to the playground and checked out one of the fishing piers.  And after a delightful Subway dinner (our dining choices were VERY limited on the base), Matt took Ry took a boxing tournament.  Madeline and I stayed in the minivan and took turns reading her Natalie books to each other.  It was totally worth it, as Ryan and Daddy loved seeing live boxing.

Our little cottage had a loft where the kids slept.  They thought it was so much fun, and loved hanging over the ledge!

Madeline's tooth fell out at the beach, but she wanted to wait until we got home for the Tooth Fairy to come.  The Tooth Fairy was very accommodating and even left Madeline a note.

Ryan, playing in a natural pool of water.  I can't believe my baby is about to turn 5!

Catch that water!

Why does the water always seem colder to Mommy???

I savor this special time with my babies.  I love that Ry is still small enough that he grabs my hand and leads me around to show me things he has found.  He loves to converse.

So beautiful!

Daddy wanted to capture our feet--from left, Ry, Mommy, Madeline.

Our princess with her daddy.

Mommy and Maddie.

Our family sandcastle.

Buddies

 

Stomping on the castle.

The girl loves to do splits, and the sand makes it so much more fun.

Our musical boy.

Visiting a base is so fun.  The signs and the sights are truly unique, and give you a much greater appreciation for the young men and women serving our country.

From Matt, Day 2 in Brazil

It was a great day. It was raining really hard and didn't think we'd be able to spend any time with the kids. but then at about 2, which was the time they were supposed to come, it stopped raining. It was a smaller group, but it was fun getting to know them. It is always tough when you can't communicate, but some have learned some English words, and wanted to learn. This area is probably as poor as Benevides, but they don't have the health issues b/c they're not living on a dump. Drugs and alcohol are bad, and several of the kids fathers are drug dealers. The pastor here is really cool. He's a great guy. Then all the volunteers are really nice too. They made an amazingly delicious lunch. When we were shopping for food today Mike told them that we'd be fine with pasta. One of the ladies said that if she told her mom they were making pasta she'd leave because she'd be too embarrassed to serve it...too plain. Then we went out to eat and some folks from the church bought us dinner. Really great folks here.

Y Princess Campout-ButterCup and BaldEagle

Madeline tells me that this is the JUICIEST watermelon she has EVER had!

Warming up around the campfire with her friend Maryanne.

Marshmallow time.

Like her mommy, Madeline loves her marshmallows on fire and burnt to a crisp.

Okay, I know there are a lot of these fishing pictures, but they were ALL so precious.

 

Madeline and Daddy started their first year of Y Princesses just a couple weeks ago.  Madeline's Indian name is ButterCup and Matt's Indian name is Bald Eagle.  They are both loving it and it is precious to watch them talking together after a meeting or working on a project together to earn a feather.  Buttercup stayed by Bald Eagle's side, as he tirelessly sewed together his and her leather vests.  The morning of the campout, as I was brushing Madeline's teeth, she said, "Mommy, I am burning with excitement for tonight (the campout)".  They both love this special time together.  It is pure joy for me to watch.  Ry and I spent special time together that day, too, and I even let him sleep in our bed, which NEVER happens for the Wells' kids.

Another Tooth Bit the Dust

On the first day of our beach vacation, Madeline lost another tooth.  She is absolutely adorable with this front tooth missing!

The Chargers--Ry's Soccer Team

Before they begin each quarter, the smart coach has them point the direction of their goal time after time.  Here is Ry pointing.

 

Ryan LOVES playing soccer.  Because of his birthdate, he is one of the youngest on the team, but boy does he have heart.  Even when he's "on the bench", he's standing up on the sidelines cheering for his team.  We love his little-man intensity.  It is so fun to watch.  On a side note, we have really been trying to teach him to be gentler with his sister and other girls when he plays.  We laugh as we watch him on the soccer field because we can tell that he's conflicted when he's trying to get the ball away from a girl.  He really wants to be aggressive, but he's not sure that's the right thing to do.  We tell him that it's okay on the soccer field. . .very sweet.